Monday, February 3, 2014

Take the initiative and educate yourself

Our boss, the dentist, must take a certain number of hours
per year of continuing education in order to maintain his or her license. The
dental hygienist is also required to keep his or her license current with
continuing education every year … but what about the office manager, treatment coordinator,
financial coordinator, or hygiene coordinator? We do not have these
requirements to maintain our jobs in the dental practice, but we have one of
the most important jobs in the office. What I find in many offices is a lack of
training for the administrative team … so you need to take the bull by the
horns and do it yourself. My goal today is to give you some resources that you
can tap into so you can continue your education and be successful in the dental
practice.

In no particular order, here are my top 5 ways you, as a
member of the administrative team, can educate yourself in dentistry and
Dentrix.

The
Dentrix Resource Center – Most of you using Dentrix in your office are
paying for a Dentrix customer support plan, but the only thing you are using is
phone support or updates. Tap into this amazing learning experience and elevate
your knowledge about your practice management system. In the Resource Center,
you have access to videos, an online knowledgebase, and tutorials. Even though
I am an experienced trainer, I use the knowledgebase all the time for my client
questions. From any Dentrix module, click on Help > Support Knowledgebase.

AADOM –
The American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) is the premier group
of which you need to be a part. It will revolutionize you as an administrator
in your dental practice. CLICK HERE to find out more about this organization
and its annual conference (hint: it is always somewhere warm and fun J ).

Dentrix
Seminars and Workshops – If you prefer classroom or lecture style
learning, this is for you. I have been teaching the Dentrix Insight Seminars
for about 4 years now and everyone always leaves with some great pearls of
knowledge and tips they can implement in their office right away. The Workshops
are usually a 2- or 3-day course with hands-on learning. CLICK HERE for more
information.

Read,
Read, Read – I will never reprimand a front office team member for
reading dental journals and articles while on the job. This is definitely some
of the easiest and most inexpensive educational material you can get. Here are
some of my favorites:

Dentrix
Magazine – It comes out quarterly and if you are on a customer support
plan you should receive it automatically.

Dental
Practice Management – There is an online version and a print version. CLICKHERE to check out the online version.

Insurance
Solutions Newsletter – This is one of the few paid subscriptions that I
would recommend. It is fabulous! CLICK HERE to be directed to their website
where you can subscribe.

Business
of Dentistry Conference – This is your conference! It is packed full of
some of the best practice management consultants, Dentrix trainers, and
speakers in the dental industry. You will find courses on leadership,
motivation, social media, HIPAA, Dentrix, and so much more at this conference. Also,
it is such a fun time for your entire team because you can go out dancing,
shopping, or cruise the strip in Vegas. CLICK HERE for more information.

Dayna Johnson, Certified Dentrix Trainer

Dayna loves her work. She has over 25 years of experience in the dental industry, and she’s passionate about building efficient, consistent, and secure practice management systems. Dayna knows that your entire day revolves around your practice management software—the better you learn to use it, the more productive and stress-free your office will be. In 2016, Dayna founded Novonee ™, The Premier Dentrix Community, to help cultivate Dentrix super-users all over the country. Learn more from Dayna at www.novonee.com and contact Dayna at dayna@novonee.com.